Empathy
by Laetina
Summary: Dark Link discovers an unusual prisoner in Ganon's dungeons.Enthralled by the prisoner he decides to further investigate the matter. Link x Dark Link,Shonen-ai
1. Chapter 1

Zelda does not belong to me, in fact it belongs to Nintendo. I am writing this purely for amusment and will make no profit off it.

I walked down the stairs, carefully minding my footsteps as they were quite slippery and ill kept

I walked down the stairs, carefully minding my footsteps as they were quite slippery and ill kept. Ganon thought it added a certain décor to the dungeon. One would figure the spiders that hung from the ceiling like delicate nightmares, the darkness, and the putrid sweet stench of rotting flesh would do it for most people.

My errand was supposed to be simple, but oh how often it is that simple things go awry. I had come to find suitable parts…. for my experiments, and what better place to locate freshly expired corpses than Ganon's dungeons. I went to locate the Gerudo woman in charge of the prison only to find her gone on some sort of personal business.

In her absence she had left a moblin in charge, not really the brightest of creatures but very big and very dangerous. He let me through after lengthy argument, involving a lot of name waving from me and a great deal of grunting on his part. Not only did he refuse to help me with my errand he sent me to a little used section of the dungeon. My chances of finding any fresh parts here was slim.

As I was heading toward the cells it hit me. There wouldn't be fresh corpses but I could hear that strange moaning that often accompanied the movements of the redead. If there was anything I really hated it was those creatures. It was most likely they were locked up however. After all what sort of fool would let something so uncontrollable run around unchained. Still I flung the first door open with more force than was truly necessary. It banged with a great deal of noise against the wall and was accompanied by a soft clicking sound. How odd.

The cell was empty except for rusting chains and some long dried blood flaking on the floor. Nothing important to be taken from this cell. I tried several more cells all either empty or with bodies so far decayed that very little could be gleaned from them. I was feeling rather annoyed when I rounded a corner and the most shocking thing I had ever seen met my eyes.

It was like seeing my reflection in a mirror. There was a man hanging from the chains set in the wall. He was the same as me in stature. His face looked like a master sculptor had copied his features from my own. Even his hair looked to be the same texture as mine.

Ahh, but there were differences as well. My skin was pitch black, his fair. My hair looked like someone had spilled ink into it; his was an almost painfully bright color, reminiscent of a dried sunflower. My eyes red and his, well whatever color were they, he didn't appear conscious.

In fact it was very disturbing to see someone that could so easily be me, chained and bleeding from numerous wounds.

You know how it is when you want something only to find another has abandoned or discarded the same treasure you so desired? The moment was simply too opportune to pass up.

I did happen to have a set of skeleton keys for the dungeons due to my constant need to be in and out of them, so I made use of them at this time. I held onto the man in order that he shouldn't fall when I loosened the chains. He slumped onto my shoulder with that familiar weight, except the body that I was carrying this time was warm.

I managed to haul him up to the steps when I was surprised by the Gerudo prison guard. "You were very swift in carrying out Lord Ganon's orders weren't you?" she said in a voice like silk being ripped over glass. "I'm surprised you got down here this quickly, as you well know by now undoubtly you're to patch this one up, so that Ganon can play with him again soon", she smiled haughtily showing the bright purple paint on her lips.

To this I nodded in reply. It rather figured and it was silly of me to have aspired to something so good. But for some reason I felt a brush of annoyance when she ran a finger across the elf's leg. "Lord Ganon always does take the pretty ones" she purred. "I had best staunch his wounds before he bleeds out, dear lady" I said as a means of escape.

I carried the elf through the winding halls of the castle till I came to my chambers, which were at the end of a little used hall. I had heard from some of the Gerudo that a princess used to live in this castle. Perhaps this was true as the quarters which I dwelled in were rather girlish. Maybe they didn't suite a creature that dissected and remodeled the dead but I found myself unhappy at the thought of getting rid of them. My feet sank into the soft pink carpeting as I entered, with my living burden. The walls were hard stone but were softened by tapestries of unicorns and fairies. Books of fairytales lined the walls in profusion along with the books I had drawn of anatomy and decay. Soft floral sheets, delicate pastel bedspreads, and lacy pillows covered the rosewood bed. A delicate canopy infolded the bed in a snowy rush of thick lace.

But to carry out my orders I though it wiser to enter the next room which was more appropriate to the task. A large metal table stood in the center of the room, surrounded by more shelves containing scalpels, needles, thread, alcohol, bandages, and scraps of leather. There were several drains in the floor which I had added the deal with the, ah how to phrase this pleasantly, fluids from my experiments in reanimating the dead.

I felt a twinge of nervousness when I lay the elf down on the table. I had never attempted to heal someone who was living before, and the man was interesting, at least to look at. I didn't want inadvertently kill him. It didn't matter how much blood a cadaver lost, but if I did something wrong I could kill a living creature.

Well it was now or never. At least he wouldn't feel anything…….

………………………………………………………………………………………………

I dropped my needle into some alcohol to sterilize it and looked at the elf. He was still breathing but I really wasn't sure how to determine his condition. I wanted him to be alright, but I was also sort of afraid how Ganon would react if he died. The last time I hadn't gotten things done exactly what he wanted them, things had not been pretty……

I wrapped clean bandages around the sutures, hoping it would help prevent infection. Then I got up and flung the sad remains of the man's tunic into the scrap pile. This was the best I could do for him. I picked him up gingerly and carried him into the other room, rest would help an injured animal, surely it would assist him?


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own Zelda, Nintendo does. I'm not making any money off this and I am only writing for my own amusement.

Link's Point of View

I winced when I woke up; everything hurt, and was suffused with an all consuming panic. I felt nauseous and dizzy. I was lying flat on my back, which was a change from my last position. What ever I was lying on was soft as well which didn't seem to fit the situation.

I opened my eyes and saw I was lying in a bed. Presumably a girl's bed, judging from all the pink. I couldn't see very far though because everything but my view of bed was blocked by a lace canopy. My heart thumped in my chest, I wasn't in the dungeon but this didn't necessarily mean I was better off.

My stomach churned when I heard Gannon's deep voice from outside the lace curtains. "Feeling better know, aren't we?" "Maybe I should have a look to see" I dove towards the other side of the bed, feeling that no matter what I did it wouldn't be quick enough to escape. I was wrong about that point as well as many others. My feet tangled in the blankets and I fell through the snowy canopy, landing painfully on my arm.

I looked up quickly and saw a form a good deal smaller than Gannon bending over me. "If you leap around like that you're going to break your stitches." he said in the booming voice which seemed at odd with his delicate looks. In fact maybe it was just cause I was sick and dizzy, but he looked an awfully lot like me…..

This increased my sense of confusion, not to mention it was painful lying on the floor with my wounds rubbing against it. "Where am I" I said hoarsely. "You're in Ganon's castle, in my room" he said. "In Ganon's castle!!" I screeched, "If I'm in Hyrule castle who on earth are you?!"

The man looked at me and said in a wavering voice "I'm Link and you might want to be a little quieter." It was at this point that I realized I was still locked up in the dungeon in the grips of a fever dream. After all what else could it be? I was in Ganon's castle but Ganon wasn't ripping me to shreds, covering me in lashes, or leering over me. And I was in Zelda's room talking to a dark version of myself with exactly the same name.

"Link" looked at me worriedly and asked "Maybe you'd like to lie back down? You really look pretty bad." "But" I muttered "How can your name be Link? That's my name." The apparition looked a bit staggered by that but replied "Well maybe it's just a very common name."

My doppelganger strode over and reached down to help me up and since I was dreaming this anyways, I let him. When he had me settled amongst the cushions he said "Perhaps you'd like something to drink." He walked over to a shelf and returned with two goblets of dark wine. One of which he handed to me. Unfortunately he waited till I was drinking to ask me a question. "Why is Gannon so interested in you anyways?

I choked on my wine. "I'm afraid I can't tell you that" I said. "I see" said the dark version of myself in a voice that mimicked Gannon's in such a terrifying close fashion. He waited for me to finish my drink and said "It really would be best if you rested. Perhaps you're hungry? I'll go fetch you something to eat." My shadow slipped out of the room and I heard a lock tumble into place.

I waited till I heard him walking off and staggered toward the window. When I reached it, I looked out and was struck by vertigo. Hyrule castle now rested on a cliff overhanging a pit of bubbling lava. What was I to do? I had to escape, not only would I die if I didn't but who would be left to resist Gannon?


	3. Chapter 3

Zelda does not belong to me, in fact it belongs to Nintendo. I am writing this purely for amusment and will make no profit off it.

TheFireSage, Legend of Zelda 4 life, and Silver Volken Raven, I really appreciated the reviews. They make me happy. ^_^

I locked the elf in my room to keep the other denizens of the castle away from him and slipped off. While it was entirely possible and fairly probable he was receiving Gannon's ire for no reason other than my lord's amusement, the fact that he wouldn't disclose his reason for being here annoyed me.

While I was slipping down to the kitchens I overheard two of the Gerudo talking. I slipped behind a pillar to better overhear their dulcet tones. "Gannon was lucky that he caught him before he did more damage." "He got rid of Volgavia, what if he had reached the other temples?" "What if he had been able to find a way to defeat our lord?" "I doubt that would be possible" said the second lady.

"Well! What's he going to do with the copy? It's not like he really needs it anymore." "Hmmm" said the other lady "he might keep him at his experiments." "Pah!" said the other "our lord isn't going to keep a servant that's totally useless now. Far more likely he'll deal with him as he would Link, prolonged pain and a messy death." "Perhaps he won't kill him. Maybe he'll only give him to Koume and Kotake" said the first woman. "Hush!!!!" said the second "we don't talk about them after Lady Naburoo."

I swift fear scuttled through my heart. If what they said was true I needed to leave immediately. Experience had shown me that Ganon was not overly fond of me, so I was inclined to think they spoke the truth. In some ways it wasn't such an unpleasant thought. I was tired of living trapped within these walls, being constantly ignored by most of the creatures that lived within them. As for how to get out and where to go… Well the elf I found had irked Gannon in some way and his fate was obviously not going to be pleasant, perhaps if I rescued him from it he would be grateful, at least for a while. I might be able to get him to take me a distance from here and then work something out.

If this elf was so important it was likely his possessions were in Ganon's chambers. It seemed like it might be beneficial to retrieve them so I needed to get in there. My chances of doing so really depended on who was guarding the rooms. If it were some of the Gerudo I had no chance, if was Moblins it would be hard but perhaps possible. Luck which I usually had very little of seemed to be with me today for Stalfos were guarding the door. Really these creatures simply tended to act in certain patterns and they usually obeyed Ganon's orders most exactly. It was so convenient it almost brought a purr to my throat. A few orders from me, while standing behind a wall had the undead marching off to fetch ingredients for an inanely complicated soup recipe and me free to enter unnoticed.

I found the elf's equipment fairly quickly. It was locked in a chest, good locks too. So I simply broke the chest open with a convenient curtain rod leaving the locks in their lovely intact state. I had to admit he had some odd possessions. Besides a sword and spare tunic (red for some reason), were a collection of milk bottles, an ocarina, a strange looking grappling hook, a large hammer……..and some bombs. This gave me a bit of an idea. I pulled them out and set them at intervals around the room, leaving the strings long. Then I lit them.

I gathered together Link's assortment of oddities and bundled them up in one of Ganon's pillowcases. I picked up the bundle and walked briskly away from Ganon's quarters. The bombs I set off would probably cause enough of a distraction to buy me a bit of time, not to mention a bit of well deserved revenge. The next step in my plan would be how to get out of the castle and I already had that well in hand, so I ran to the stables and retrieved Ganon's horse. It was hard to get her up the steps but I managed, despite her gnashing of teeth and the sparks her metal hooves set off as she stomped against the stone floor.

I reached the my room right as the bombs went off and slipped through the door, explosions and collapsing stones creating a garish grinding sound behind me. "I think I have decided to join with your cause" I said to Link, watching the elf's blue eyes widen in surprise. "I have retrieved your equipment to that end."

The elf slipped his spare tunic on with haste and strapped on his various possessions quickly. We needed to get out of here as quickly as possible so I asked him to get onto the horse. He looked nervous but managed to scramble onto her back. We managed to make it nearly to the top of one of the towers without incident. As we were running up the stairs, a group of Moblins charged into the hall.

Valuing common sense over a foolishly heroic charge, I smacked the horse on the rear causing her to bolt up the stairs with Link. I dashed after them. I almost managed to make it to the door but one of the Moblins grabbed me by my tunic, yanking me off my feet and nearly strangling me in the process. I heard I strange noise behind me and suddenly the end of that strange grappling hook smacked into the Moblins hand causing him to drop me. I lunged for the door and Link slammed it shut behind me.


	4. Chapter 4

Zelda does not belong to me, in fact it belongs to Nintendo. I am writing this purely for amusement and will make no profit off it.

I want to apologize for running so late on this chapter. I was trapped in the midst of composing term papers and studying for finals.

Link's POV

Panic skidded through my heart as we mounted Ganon's horse; I was beginning to wonder if my doppelganger was crazy. We were on top of one of the towers, surrounded by a moat of lava, and being pursued by every guard in the castle, where could we go to? In a horrible answer to my question he kicked the steed's flanks and it started running. The horse bolted and in my befuddled state I didn't realize what he was doing. I screamed as the horse ran to the end of the tower and jumped over the edge. We hurtled down toward the lava, my dark self making not a sound as we fell. Then there was a sudden lurch and the horse started galloping on thin air as if it were ground.

"How……" "Oh" said my double "it's a nightmare, they're like that, they can fly, and they eat knuckle bones of poets, and do other such things." The horse continued its mad dash through the night sky, cold air rushing over us as she ran. We rode above Hyrule Town it's now dead resident's moving about in a horrible parody of the living. Impossibly soon we had reached the plains and a thought crossed my mind. "Wait go that way" I said "I think I know a place we can hide."

Gannon's horse landed on top of the plato, it's iron hooves tearing up sod. I tumbled off the horse feeling sick, while my apparition slid gracefully off its back. The horse stood there snorting fire and glaring malevolently at us. To my surprise my doppelganger reached up and removed the horses bridle and saddle. At which point it tore off into the night. "Gannon can't control her without a special bridle, no one can" he said "this way she won't go back to him and give away our location." "Where can we hide now?" "That hole over there leads to a fairy fountain" I said trying to stand up. "A fairy fountain" he said in a delighted tone.

He then bent down and helped me up. He managed to drag me to the hole and we both tumbled into it. When we landed in the fairy fountain I saw his eyes widen, his expression a mix of shock and delight. Most people don't tend to notice fairies for some reason or another and apparently this was the first time he had ever seen one. Or several to be more correct. He watched in interest as several of the fairies settled over me, healing my wounds and chattering rapidly to each other. While he was watching them one of the other fairies settled in his dark hair, the pink glow from her body both illuminating and casting his features into shadow.

"You should probably rest" he said. I really couldn't argue with him so we made ourselves as comfortable as possible on the hard marble floor.

I fell into an uneasy sleep, watching my doppelganger's chest rise and fall with each breath. While I was drifting in and out of slumber, I heard a soft rustle of cloth. I quietly slid my hand over the hilt of my sword and peeked through my lashes toward the noise. To my great surprise Navi fluttered over to me and clung to my hair. A familiar slim figure followed her out of the shadows, hesitating a bit as he slipped into view. I slowly stood up.

You're alright!!" Sheik said running up toward me and grasping my forearm. When he did this he looked behind me and I saw his eyes widen. "He helped me" I said to Sheik. "Link" said Sheik in a hushed tone "you don't know what he is do you?" He's Dark Link, a homunculus that Ganon created him for some purpose." "Well" I said "I did sort of wonder why we had the same name. He can't be too awful he helped me escape."

"He did…?" said Sheik a thoughtful expression slipping over his face. "Maybe you could ask him to help you find the other sages?" "I don't know if I can do that Sheik, it would put him in more danger than he's already in." Sheik gave me an odd look, as if I had completely missed the point. "You should go to the Zora's kingdom next." A flicker of the light caught my eye and by the time I looked back at Sheik he was gone. Earlier experience proved there was no point in searching for him so I simply curled up and went back to sleep. Waking up briefly to dissuade Navi from tying my hair into knots.

I woke up a bit earlier than my doppelganger. We needed to leave so I nudged my apparition who rolled over grumbling in his sleep. Further poking roused him looking groggy. "I want to thank you for rescuing me" I said. He watched blearily as I slung my pack on. "Where are you going?" he said sleepily. "I'm going to go to the Zora's kingdom, but I'll take you to Karkariko Village first, it's the safest place I can think of." "And if I don't particularly desire to go there?" "Well I could take you somewhere else." "And if I desire to go with you?" "But won't that be dangerous for you?" He laughed eerily in response, "No more dangerous than anywhere else at the moment really, I'm sure Ganon has flown into a rage and is searching for us right now."

"I do have a question….what should I call you? It seems weird for us to both go by Link." "Well my entire name was supposed to be Dark Link, but I never really figured out why there was an adjective added to it." "Could I just call you Dark?" "I suppose you could call me Dark if you wanted."

Navi had been rather quite during this entire conversation, as she had spent it glaring at Dark. Dark on the other hand seemed more than delighted by her presence and I was slightly worried his curiosity would aggravate the fairy.

We climbed out of the hole Dark watching Navi intriguedly all the while. We continued up the river noticing that it got oddly colder as the closer we went to the Zora's Domain. We dashed through the waterfall only to find desolation as bad as Hyrule Town. I led Dark about looking for survivors but we found none, only barely perceptible faces staring back at us from beneath a thick sheet of ice.

Following Sheik's advice we came out into the enclosure that surrounded the sacred lake, only to find parts of it frozen over as well. "The only way to get across seems to be to hop over the iceburgs" I said. To say my doppelganger did not look pleased would have been an understament. He had pulled his ears back like an angry cat, eyes narrowed into little slits of flame. "You recommend we jump across constantly moving, cold and slippery objects that have a huge chance of breaking if too much weight lands on them? Sounds like an excellent plan." "Well you can wait here if you want and I'll come back when I'm done." He snarled back at me "Like I'm going to let you wander off by yourself."

I leapt into the nearest iceburg sliding a little as I landed on it. Dark followed me his movements somewhat delicate and unsure. We were almost across the iceflows when he slipped. He had almost made it but he didn't travel far enough. His hands scraped against the ice flow as he slid into the freezing water. I lunged forward slipping towards the edge and grabbed the end of his tunic under the water. I managed to pull him back onto the slab but it wasn't easy due to the lack of traction and he was shuddering with cold by the time we were both on the block of ice.

We both managed to make it into the cave. It opened up before us, sparkling with ice and snow. Delicate tinkling and crashing sounds met our ears as we entered, resembling the sound of glass breaking.


	5. Chapter 5

Zelda does not belong to me, in fact it belongs to Nintendo. I am writing this purely for amusement and will make no profit off it.

Thank you for all the lovely reviews. I'm glad so many people are enjoying this story. ^_^

Dark POV

I suppose in a sense it figured one of us would get lost. But why was it always me? I shivered, a cave made of ice was a fairly bad thing on its own, but add having to swim to reach it, and you got a lovely chance of freezing to death. I had slipped and fallen into a hole and could only now hope that Link would find me before we both died. I moved around and my hands, hoping to find a way to climb out, but hit several icy metallic depressions instead. Further inspections seemed to prove them to be chests.

Curiosity had gotten me into trouble before, but I had nothing better to do until Link returned. So I attempted to pry open the box. It proved to be a great more difficult then I expected, not only was the chest frozen shut, but it was magically locked as well. Which just proved that the fairy inside must be really magnificent. I finally resorted to setting the box on the floor, putting my foot on top of it. Then I shoved my sword into the place where the box should have opened and pried at it managing to cut myself on the blade in the process. My blood ran down the sword, staining the box at the end a shade darker. It was at this point the lock popped off. Eagerly I opened the box……….

I suppose the explosion wasn't as bad as it could have been as it only knocked me into the icy wall. My gloves were scraped and melted in some places but really I'd seen worse things, it wasn't as damaging as lava really. Also I was distracted by my own excitement, if the runes on the box were correct I would soon have a fairy just like my lighter half. I peered inside.

Inside was a small creature around the size of a mouse, lying against the metal of the box. It had pale lavender skin and silken hair of the same color. The fairy was wearing a delicate silken robe the color of violets. A mouse like tail with a peculiar tuft of hair at the end curled around the creature as if trying to gain some small amount of warmth. Its eyes were closed, but small frozen tears glistened on its cheeks.

I carefully scooped the small creature out of its prison and held it in my hands, wondering if it were dead. I mean really what else could it have been, trapped in a box for years? To my surprise it shivered in my hands.

I heard a clanking sound and suddenly Link called out "Are you alright? I ran into some trouble." The chain end of the hookshot came clattering down. I carefully placed the small fairy in my tunic pocket and let Link pull me up.

"Link, I found a fairy" I said. "That's wonderful Dark!! Can I see her?" "Her?" "Well most fairies are female aren't they?" "You're one to talk fairy boy." "Can I just see HIM then?"

I carefully pulled the fairy out of my pocket and presented it to him. Link frowned and stared at the fairy. "There's something oddly familiar about him Dark, but it may just be my imagination acting up." Link continued to gaze at the small creature and I pointed out his near frozen state. Link seemed oddly determined to sooth my ever so slight panic, "If we can get him outside and allow him to warm up he should be fine Dark, fairies are rather indestructible."

……………………………………………….

We lay down on the banks of the river after stripping off some of our soaked garments. The tiny fairy lay in my hands attempting to soak up some of my body's warmth. Link seemed to be in a fairly good humor. While I was still annoyed about the ice cave, I really couldn't hold onto my anger as entering the place had gotten me this unusual creature.

It was fairly warm and I let my gaze drift around the area, feeling mildly sleepy. The grass was a bit long and dotted with bright yellow buttercups. Saffron butterflies with tiny green eyes flitted about, landing delicately on these and other flowers. My gaze drifted over toward Link, who was smiling and watching a large frog which was sitting on his stomach. It was ridiculously pleasant.

I looked back to my hand where the purple fairy lay, wrapped in a handkerchief that Link had pulled out of his pack. I was beginning to suspect that there was something odd and perhaps magical about his way of carrying things because he shouldn't have been able to fit everything in it that he did.

But I digress. The fairy had twitched a bit in my palm. Long lavender lashes opened accenting large red eyes. "You let me free…" said the fairy in a voice so light it was barely perceptible. "Yes I said to it my companion is assisted by a fairy and I was hoping…. However the fairy cut me off in midspeech "I'm better than her" he said looking at Navi who was sitting on a buttercup and lecturing Link on not immediately jumping up and heading off for his next mission. "Infinitely better" I whispered to the fairy and as he seemed the type who would enjoy flattery I added "and much more attractive as well." This caused the little creature to preen himself looking extremely smug all the while. "What should I call you ingenious creature?" The fairy glared at Link who had sat up and was looking at us. "Vaati."

"Dark. Navi thinks we should head towards Hyrule Lake now." he said in a hesitating tone as if to indicate he had no idea why Vaati was so angry at him. I was sort of baffled as to the reason myself. "Certainly" I said pulling my over tunic back on and sliding the angry little fairy back into my pocket.

We walked along the river until we reached a large field. When we got there Link pulled his ocarina out and played a short tune. A pleasant looking little brown horse dashed over and immediately started snuffling against Link as if looking for apples he might have concealed in his tunic. Link pet the mare and fussed over her for a bit before he climbed into here back and offered me his hand. I grabbed it and he hoisted me onto the horse behind him. Link nudged the horse with his foot and we headed off towards the lake.


	6. Chapter 6

Zelda does not belong to me, in fact it belongs to Nintendo. I am writing this purely for amusement and will make no profit off it.

"That was exciting" I said to Link as I emerged from the water. I had stopped to retrieve Vaati and was slightly tardier than my companion in my leaving. Apparently something had occurred in that small amount of time, as Link was standing looking about for something. Or someone as it turned out. That peculiar Sheika who Link had mentioned had been by again and we were to go to yet another location to rescue a sage of some sort.

Link got up and started walking across the plank bridge, I followed him playing with the new hookshot as we went. We gradually meandered our way back to Hyrule field. Link stopped to fish around in his backpack and then suddenly looked up startled, his ears slicked back against his head. It had been a clear day earlier but now the scent of rain seemed to permeate the surroundings and the clouds were turning a bit greyer. Oddly enough some rabbits dashed by at top speed. The tilted to one side as they loped, dashing into the high grass. They were followed by a deer, running with a great deal more grace then the hares could muster.

As far as I knew this was normal behavior for these creatures. Link however thought otherwise. He grabbed the back of my tunic and yanked me into a large copse of nearby bushes. I landed amongst the dense bushes, feeling them scratch against me. Link crawled in and pushed me against the ground. I must admit I was less than appreciative of this treatment, and I was about to voice my displeasure, when it occurred to me that Link might have a reason for this behavior.

From the leafy cover of the bushes I saw a band of skeletons on horseback gallop by and leading this monstrous calvary was Ganon! He was undoubtly looking for us.

A shudder ran through my body. Link and I crammed ourselves as close to the ground as possible as they thundered past. I could feel my own heart beating so fast in my chest it felt like it would burst, which I supposed would blow a hole in my chest. I could hear Vaati cursing in my pocket, most likely annoyed from being tossed around due to the sudden movement.

After a while we emerged from the bushes. We ended up taking the long route to Karkariko Village as it had more cover. Vaati seemed to get more and more agitated as we approached the town. I must admit it was wickedly amusing to watch such a tiny creature have a fit. He flailed his arms around, and stomped his foot, all the while standing on my shoulder. It was particularly hard to take his fussing seriously.

"What is the problem?" I asked. Vaati tapped his foot. "There's something particularly nasty in that village" he replied. "What?" "If I told you what it's called you'd laugh and I wouldn't blame you." he said, his head tilted downwards as he spoke. "Couldn't you just tell me?" "It's ominous and disturbing, and no I can't" he said.

Swiftly he changed subjects "Also I utterly loathe being this size again" "You were bigger before?" I said, disbelievingly "As tall as you." "What happened?" I questioned. The small fairy looked flustered. "It's embarrassing and it involves a hat…." "Hat I thought you guys made shoes?!!!" Vaati eyes narrowed and he lunged forward and bit me on the thumb. I screeched and shook him.

While I was having my disagreement with Vaati, I noticed that the sky was getting darker and lightning began to flash from the sky in jagged violet forks. A huge wind swept by, whispering with the sounds of the dead, screams, entreatments, and the strange, terrifying seduction that comes with the end. The force of the gust knocked me to the ground and the only thing that kept Vaati from sailing off into the dark sky was the fact I had reflexively grabbed onto him.

The deadly breeze subsided. I ran toward the village, smelling the burning of thatch roofs. Rain poured from the sky and I shoved past some of the panicked villagers trying to find Link. I received an elbow to the face and was stepped on several times, but I managed to find Link. He was being helped up by another man. This individual was slim, smaller than Link and myself. He had huge red eyes which emphasized china skin. This was complimented by pale blonde hair, which he seemed to be trying to keep under control with bandages. In fact he seemed to have a lot of bandages on his person, especially on the fingers.

He saw me and started, shoving his wrapped fingers under his white tunic as if to grab something. Link patted him on the shoulder and he stopped. "I wanted to thank you for assisting Link in his distress" he said. There was something strange about the lilt of his voice, it sounded almost feminine. His outfit was entirely too tight for this to be possible though, which left me feeling a bit baffled. The Sheika bowed and slipped off like a colorful shadow to assist the villagers.

"Sheik told me we need to go to the shadow temple, Dark!""Where is the shadow temple?" "I think it's in the graveyard." "I bet there are a lot of ghosts, skeletons, and zombies there." I said a bit of excitement betraying itself in my voice. Unfortunately that would be a yes." I detected a bit of amusement in Link's tone.

We dashed through the graveyard. Poes floating about resembling lost scarves in the dusk. It wasn't a very large graveyard, which seemed odd for a place with so many restless souls. We soon came to the wall of a small cliff. If you peered up you could just barely reach the top of the ledge. While I was considering the best way to scale it, Link pulled out his ocarina.

I grabbed onto Link's belt as he had instructed. He started to play the delightfully eerie tune and then the world spun out of control. It was like some piece of reality had broken. There was a sense of the void and then a sudden snap of movement, almost like a board caught in a whirl wind and violently tossed free.

Then we reappeared on the ledge. I celebrated my newfound interest in the ground by being vigorously ill all over it. Link looked worried, but I was far to embarrassed to accept any assistance. I stood up and staggered forward towards the cliff wall. I looked down into the dark stair and we headed in.


	7. Chapter 7

Zelda does not belong to me, in fact it belongs to Nintendo. I am writing this purely for amusement and will make no profit off it.

Link POV

"Where is he" I asked Navi, despite the fact that neither of us had an answer. In the brief time I had known him I had discovered Dark had a great sense of curiosity. This unfortunately led to a tendency for him to wander off whenever he saw something that interested him. Not normally a problem, but I sort of wished he hadn't done it in the shadow temple. The place was very creepy and to be honest I was sort of worried for him. He was very smart but he lacked a great deal of common sense.

I bit of searching yielded some faint tracks in the dust and I followed them. Finally I found a ladder stained red with what I sincerely hoped was rust. As I was climbing down it, I heard an unpleasantly familiar moaning and shrieking. I practically flew down the ladder and landed at the bottom.

A bunch of redead were crowded around a corner. Dark's sword lay discarded on the ground, which increased my panic. I managed to stun most of them with the sun's song but not all. The one that could still move nearly grabbed me but I managed to knock it back with the hilt of my sword. I struggled for several agonizing minutes fending off hits. Finally I saw an opening; I swung back and managed to slice off its head. Unfortunately by this time the others had started moving again. The creature's head rolled off into a corner, as I parried another blow.

The fight lasted for longer than it would have liked. By the time I was finished I was bleeding and choking on the dust from the mummified undead. I staggered over to Dark.

He had shoved himself in a small corner and was whimpering. It appeared he had started to fight but their hideous shrieking had gotten to him. His strange little fairy looked up at me, his expression one of reproach tinged with relief. I think it had somehow blocked the redead after they had initially got hold of Dark, which I was thankful for.

I kneeled next to him and put my hand on his shoulder. He looked up, his face coated in dust. "Only the redead" he said in a soft voice "I'm only scared of them, I can finish the rest of the temple." I offered my arm to him and pulled him up. He shook a bit, but we managed to leave the room.

We continued our trek through the morbid mausoleum. Dark managed to confuse some of the undead and we slew those he couldn't trick. After what seemed an eternity of wandering through the darkness we reached the lowest chamber. There was a large hole in the floor and we peered into its depths. Dark bent over the hole and leaned in to look further down. "That's where the nasty thing is" said Vaati in a disgusted tone. We leapt down the hole and landed on a bouncing surface.

Two giant rotting hands materialized before my eyes. "You're kidding me." My doppelganger shouted in the direction of his pocket. "This is the horrible thing you couldn't tell me about, this?" The squeak of Vaati's reply was lost on me as the creatures rotting hand knocked me off the platform. I grabbed onto the edge of the giant drum, but not before the bottom of my foot hit the liquid below me. I yanked my foot back as I felt the acid eating through my boot and onto my skin.

Vaati yelled "Hit the hands, hit the hands you fools". Navi countered by screaming something about an invisible eye. I pulled out my bow out and aimed toward the zombie's hands as they swung toward us. My arrow somehow managed to connect with the hands. Dark yanked out the Lens of Truth and stared into it for a second. He then ran forward and swung his sword at the creature's singular eye. He slashed at viciously and then lunged forward. Dark's sword pierced the creature's eye, putrid gore spilling out over his arms and chest. The monster's body dropped down and dissolved in front of us. Dark wiped the muck from his eyes and I put my bow away. The light of the portal began to form in front of us and we stepped toward it.

………………………………………………….

When we emerged from the graveyard we were both exhausted and battered. Dark looked ill and he leaned heavily on my shoulder as we made our way through the town. The smell from the remains of the dead we had fought was nauseating and I felt ill. We caused quite a stir in the town probably due to our now befouled appearance. I decided it might be wise to get cleaned up elsewhere, so I summoned Epona.

We rode quietly. Dark was hanging on to me with more force than was necessary and it crossed my mind that I was going to have additional bruises from his grip. Dark needed a place to collapse and I desired to return home. Dark still looked spooked by the time we reached the forest. His red eyes were unusually large and he started at sounds.

I led him over to the stream to wash the blood and bits of rotting flesh off. He shuddered as he stripped of his clothes, pitching them far away from himself. Dark then sank into the water so only the tips of his ears poked out. I found some spare clothing in my house and brought it out to before joining Dark in the stream. Our garments were so befouled, they would have to be washed and part of me doubted whether even that would help.

Dark was having a great deal of trouble getting the gore out of his hair after the deluge from the creature's eye. I waded over to him and ran my fingers through his ebon strands, pulling out the bits of flesh entangled in it. I left Dark soaking in the stream and put on an old white shirt and some tights.

I talked to one of the Kokiri and managed to borrow enough blankets and padding to cover the floor, my bed was far too tiny for me now and certainly too small with the addition of Dark. When I got back Dark was pulling the old tunic over his head. "I scrubbed our clothes" he said in an annoyed tone. "The Kokkiri brought us something to eat". Dark followed me back to my house and we climbed the small ladder to the balcony.

We sat inside. The place seemed rather tiny now after my long sleep. It was messy as well, cobwebs in every nook and cranny and a chrysalis on the bed post. The bedroom was a bit enlivened by the fairies though, who were sitting inside the bowl of raspberries, while eating them.

My doppelganger drank the milk quietly, peering at me from above the mug. I dipped my fingers into the bowl of honeycombs and lifted my sticky fingers to my mouth. We absent mindedly ate the raspberries. Dark seemed to have been a bit soothed by the bath and the meal. His eyelids drooped slightly making his long dark lashes more visible.

I had spread the bedding down over a fair amount of space, so I was surprised when Dark lay down next to me. He curled up like a large cat and fell asleep.

Dark seemed to have gotten over his fear much faster than I had managed to get over my anxiety for him. He was asleep curled up next me on my old bed, his breath rising and falling in a steady rhythm. It was strange to watch him sleep his hair slightly damp and mussed. He smelled pleasant like damp moss and running water. I gradually drifted into slumber.


	8. Chapter 8

I really hadn't been suspicious when Link had told me he 'had a plan' to get through the Gerudo fortress; I had thought he knew of some back route or a good way to sneak through the place. So I waited, as he had asked, behind one of the many outcroppings of rock. I watched in mounting horror as he waltzed up to the gates and asked to speak to Naburoo.

In the flick of an eye he was surrounded by slender women, clad in billowing pants and tiny blouses. Link cheerfully declared that he wanted to see Naburoo. I felt panic rise up in my chest.

Link received a cheerful greeting in return. In fact, one of the ladies was so enthused she responded with physical affection. She demonstrated this by smacking him over the head with her scimitar hilt.

Anxiety chewed at me but I waited until nightfall to attempt a rescue. It would do no good for both of us to end up being captured. It wasn't easy to slip past the Gerudo but I managed. Years of trying to avoid notice paid off and made my way through the fortress. Torches gleamed creating warm spots of light amongst the shadows. The place was a maze of interconnecting houses, stables, and other buildings. I took meandering route through the sandstone passages, which lead me onto a flat roof. I saw a tower which was the only structure that did not resemble the other buildings. A hookshot to the tower and a set of bruised fingers later had me at Link's cell.

The idiot was rather battered and had black eye. "I didn't realize they'd throw me in a dungeon." he said.

"So you just thought they'd let you waltz past their headquarters?" I returned. "Link, the Gerudo are called Amazons, for a reason. Not to mention they're allied with Gannon."

"I thought Naburoo would help us." he said quietly.

"Link, Naburoo was captured by Ganon years ago." I watched the hope fade from his face. Link looked down at the stone floor of the cell.

"I met her when I was young. Do you think there is any chance she's still alive?"

I held back my first and most immediate response. Why crush hope without any proof? "She was given to Koume and Kotake as a present." Link looked devastated.

"Maybe we can rescue her" I said, doubting the words even as they tumbled out of my mouth.

"If were going to do that we need to get out of here." I continued. Link nodded.

The hookshot provided the means of our exit. I was about to suggest we just sneak off into the desert when Link whispered. "The Gerudo said something about their being other prisoners. I think they were carpenters, we need to release them."

My patience was wearing thin and it showed in my voice. "Why should go and rescue some fools, who probably came here only because of their own lust? At least we had a reason for coming here. They were just being idiots."

Link responded by looking dejected. "I have to save them Dark because no one else is going to. You don't have to help me, but I have to do it."

"Fine" I huffed. We snuck off toward the closest structure.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

We continued sneaking through the compound. We had let three of the foolish carpenters loose and were searching for the last. We were about to go around the corner of a hall when I saw some movement out of the corner of my eye. I touched Link on the shoulder and pointed. Link stepped quietly behind the guard and hit her over the head. Turn about is fair play, I suppose.

We freed the last man and he thanked Link and ran off just as the rest had. "Finally that's over." I muttered. As if to declare my words a mockery, two guards dropped from the rafters. One of the women dived at Link and the other lunged at me!

I parried her two blades, narrowly avoiding losing my ear. The fight was quickly becoming one-sided, with me having only nicked her. She had scored several hits and I was now bleeding.

Suddenly, the Gerudo woman caught my sword with her two blades! There would be no help forthcoming from Link as he was holding off his own opponent. I swung my foot up and kicked her hard and she fell back.

I swiftly brought my blade to her throat. She glared up at me in anger from the floor. Her companion must have seen, as she dropped her swords and held up her hands to Link.

"We surrender." she declared. Her friend shot a gaze at her that was as withering as the one she had graced me with.

Link's opponent continued "You have defeated our greatest warriors and are now worthy to see Naburoo and ask to join us. However you must cross the desert to find her at the Colossus."

My opponent rejoined her friend and they led us to a large gate. "Follow the flags to reach the temple." she said. "But be careful it's easy to lose one's way in the desert."

I was suspicious of the Gerudos sudden acceptance of Link but he seemed to take it as an earnest sentiment. The guard stepped back and let us into the desert where carrion birds picked the remains of flesh from bleaching bones.

We wandered around following the flags which were nearly lost amongst the blinding flecks of sand. It was painfully hot and we had to stop several times to wipe the grit from our faces.

Link and I eventually reached a small stone hut. We stumbled inside hoping for a brief respite from the sun and the lash of the sand. While we were drinking water I felt a slight disturbance in the air. "There's something off here." I said.

Link pulled out the Lens of Truth and looked at the corner. A poe materialized slowly out of the air, like sand pouring out of a broken hourglass. The ghost spoke with a tone of malicious cheer "I'll be your guide on the way, but coming back I won't play! I'll show you the only way to go, so follow me and don't be slow!"

We followed the will o' the wisp through the desert. The poe seemed rather amused with guiding us and it flew about like a moth enamored with a flame. The sand beat against us, cutting uncovered skin and coating hair and garments.

Finally the storm died down and we could see clearly. We were in a small valley surrounded by cliffs. The fronds from a few sparse palm trees waved about listlessly in the hot breeze. A large cliff loomed before us, grim and disturbingly nondescript. As we got closer I realized there was a stair carved into the cliff leading up to a large door. Two huge statues marked the entrance, holding their hands out in a gesture of offering.

My nerves must have showed on my face because Link reached over and touched my hand. I turned to face him and he wrapped his arms around me. I let him lean against me, feeling the heat of his body, almost unbearably warm from the sun. Much to my surprise he brought his lips to mine in a gentle kiss.

I was surprised perhaps, but pleased. I leaned further into the kiss. As I did I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I yanked Link's hair to get his attention at approximately the same time Navi started screeching. Link pushed his back against mine, as large cacti tunneled out of the sand.

"Does this always happen when you kiss someone!?" I shouted.

"Of course not." He shouted back, with a slight waver in his voice.

About half an hour later we stood over the vanquished bodies of our enemies. I added to my list of problems that Link undoubtly had some sort of curse on him. I stopped my mental whining to pull several thorns from Link's face. He grimaced briefly, but then smiled at me. We turned around and together entered the stone edifice.


End file.
